We had the opportunity to review the physical and complete set of Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology from Apologia.
Apologia. Where do I begin? The company and the products it publishes have made homeschooling so much easier for homeschool parents like me, especially when it comes to teaching science. In the almost 30 years since its inception, Apologia has grown from a ministry to a thriving company that continues to serve homeschool families and other academic institutions with curriculum for a number of subjects.
Although Apologia is unapologetically Christian in its content, the pages of its curriculum, and encouragement and devotional material do not pound you over the head about the Word of God. It is also not subtle, but instead presents the wonder and amazement of God through science, literature, geography, history and more.
Apologia continues to add curricula for more subjects. Science is one of its most popular subjects with curriculum for students in kindergarten through high school. One of those studies is Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology, which is what we had the opportunity to review. Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology is part of Apologia’s Young Explorer series, which is geared towards kindergarten through sixth grade students.
For the review, Apologia sent us:
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Text
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Junior Notebooking Journal
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Notebooking Journal
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology MP3 Audio CD
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology is the study of the human body for elementary grades. It is an immersion approach where your child spends a period of time covering or learning about one area of science. Many of the skills they use (ex: completing experiments, etc.) and the terminology they learn through that approach will cross all areas (topics) of science. Once your child finishes the 28-week course about human anatomy and physiology, they will know human anatomy and physiology. The immersion approach allows them to have solid knowledge instead of a surface understanding of the topic. Believe it or not, there is something new and exciting covered in each of the weekly lessons.
The human body is absolutely amazing and students learn about it in the 14 lessons that are covered:
Lesson 1 – Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
Lesson 2 – The Skeletal System
Lesson 3 – The Muscular System
Lesson 4 – The Digestive and Renal Systems
Lesson 5 – Health and Nutrition
Lesson 6 – The Respiratory System
Lesson 7 – Life in the Blood
Lesson 8 – The Cardiovascular System
Lesson 9 – The Nervous and Endocrine System
Lesson 10 – The Nervous System Extended
Lesson 11 – Your Senses
Lesson 12 – The Integumentary System
Lesson 13 – The Lymphatic and Immune Systems
Lesson 14 – Growth and Development
Since we received two different levels of notebooking journals, that provided a wonderful opportunity for Canyon and Lily to work together through this study. Canyon is in the fourth/fifth grade (you know us homeschoolers) Lily is in the eighth grade. She is currently working through another science study that does not have a lot of hands on opportunities. Lily loves science, but would rather read about it than conduct lab experiments. I think she loves science (even the labs) and just does not know it yet. As we have been working through the experiments, I have seen her attitude change. She likes the labs.
I really like that Apologia includes a suggested schedule for working through its science curriculum. Of course, you may complete the work, in your school, on your own schedule, but knowing the expected pace of a study helps. The course is scheduled to be completed over 28 weeks while covering the material twice a week. We kept that schedule working on science on Wednesdays and Fridays. At this pace, we will be able to complete a second study from the Young Explorers Series before the end of the school year.
The Apologia textbook manages to not be “text booky”, because of the way the material is laid out. Colorful pictures and the Try This! activities make reading through the text fun and interesting. There are a number of activities and Apologia stresses it is not necessary to complete all of the activities, but you try telling that to science loving kids. Picking and choosing the activities your children complete is an option, but if you have the time, I suggest completing as many of the activities as possible. Your child will learn something from each one they complete.
All you really need to teach the course is the textbook, but I have to say the notebooking journals complete the course. I would not suggest teaching the course without the notebooking journal. Children are able to personalize their Notebooking Journal with their name and can also use it a helpful resource to refer to after completing the course.
The notebooking journals are written to enhance the learning for lower and upper elementary age children. You can see a comparison of pages that cover the same lesson. The resources for this study make it possible to include a wide age range of children in the same study. Although I only have two children working through this course, I really appreciate not having to tweek one journal because it is too elementary or advanced for one of my children.
The junior notebook is great for children who are early readers, new handwriters or busy students who are not ready for intense science studies. It is not busy work, but work that enhances what they are learning. This is a page Canyon completed in the his notebooking journal.
Lily loves to write and you can see she enjoyed (the detail) completing the notebooing journal pages. The regular notebooking journal provides a good variety of exercises that are a gentle introduction to labs and what she can expect when she moves into the Physical Science study in the ninth grade. River is currently working through that course. If you have a middle school child who may need a gentle approach to science, using one of the books from the Young Explorer Series may work to build an interest.
Another thing I like about the activities/lab experiments is that Apologia provides a list of all of the supplies you need for each activity. Most items are ones you probably already have at home. If you do not feel like searching and would rather have everything ready at your fingertips, you may purchase a prepackaged kit from another source that includes most of the items used in many of the labs. I bought this kit for Human Anatomy and Physiology, but am making River hunt down the items from around the house and in the shop for what he needs for Physical Science.
One of the fun experiments we completed was studying the transformation of an apple that was subjected to different environments.
We did not use the MP3 Audio CD, but it was good to have on hand. Jeannie Fulbright is engaging (a lot more than me) and will keep your child’s attention. Using the curriculum was a fun time for us. My children preferred my reading to them than Jeannie. I read the text to Lily and Canyon. On the days when I was not available to read, Lily read to Canyon. This is the last year they will be able to work together on a school subject and they have enjoyed it. Once Canyon continues working through the Apologia Young Explorer Series, I will purchase the CDs with the next study. They are a great tool for moms who need that extra teacher to read the lesson while they are helping another child, have a child who wants to work independently or for a child who is an auditory learner.
Apologia does a great job with the material it covers. Lily noted some of the science history and vocabulary she had already learned from her other science study. What she learned, about the same, from the Apologia study added to her wealth of knowledge.
Canyon loves everything science. Although the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology course has not given him an opportunity to blow up anything, he is really enjoying the study of the human body. Apologia has made it very easy for me to teach science to my children without having a science background.
If you have been putting off including science in your homeschool with your elementary age children, because you do not know the difference between a measuring cup and beaker (they are used in the same manner), check out the Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology immersion science study from Apologia.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
You may purchase Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology textbook for $42, Notebooking Journal for $29, Junior Notebooking Journal for $29 and the MP3 Audio CD for $29.
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